


There is an ache in your chest (while you miss what is not yet found)

by Garecc, Gunpowderdtim (Garecc)



Series: Ready, Aim, Fire [13]
Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: (of a sort), (throwaway line about nastya and aurora), Banter, Confusion, Crew as Family, Dr. Carmilla's A+ Parenting, Fate & Destiny, First Meetings, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Immortals, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Jonny is the only one angsting but he's always sad its so wierd, Kinda, Light Angst, Mentioned Dr Carmilla (Dr. Carmilla), Music, Musicians, Narratomancy, Protective Jonny d'Ville, Reunions, Toy Solider is mentioned but not here, and jonny being high key traumatized and anxious, but in the backround, its mostly just fun mech chaos hours, jonny bites his hands when he's upset, kinda?????? - Freeform, light fluff, nasty and aurora are very in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27691132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Garecc/pseuds/Garecc, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Garecc/pseuds/Gunpowderdtim
Summary: In which the mechs are half aware that someone, or multiple people, are missing. But everyone in the crew is present, no one is missing, and they are all here.aka in which before marius and Raph show up, everyone is half acting like they should already be there due to idk, narrative powers? the fact they are all drawn home to aurora? who knows but they are
Relationships: Jonny d'Ville & Nastya Rasputina, The Aurora/Nastya Rasputina
Series: Ready, Aim, Fire [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1799860
Comments: 10
Kudos: 99





	There is an ache in your chest (while you miss what is not yet found)

**Author's Note:**

> crosses this off my Fics To Write List  
> whats next... moonquakes probably
> 
> I wrote this for school I think but the page limit was 5 pages and this is. 16. I will email her.

They all felt it one day.

There was a feeling of someone missing.

A prevailing sense that something important was gone. Not quite vanished, but _not here._

Not home.

Not right.

It’s not an easy feeling to identify, not one you can put your finger on without a struggle. Someone missing. Some presence gone.

It's a feeling in the back of your mind when a housemate goes to the store, but you weren’t paying attention when they told you, so you don't realize they’re gone.

A feeling like when you are walking in a group and someone slips behind you and you have a momentary panic of "where are they!?!?" Before you turn around and there they are. Safe and sound and _found._

A feeling of knowing you are forgetting something. Forgetting _someone._ A distant, imperceptible feeling.

They all felt like someone was missing.

* * *

Jonny sat in his room, glaring at the wall. He’d paced around Aurora's halls twenty times over, asked Aurora to do a headcount even more. W _hy was he convinced that someone wasn't here._

Tim was in the armory, mixing chemicals in an attempt to, in his words, to invent a new explosion _and_ die trying.

Aurora assured him Nastya was somewhere inside her with too many winky smiley faces for him to feel comfortable.

He did not ask any follow-up questions.

That was his sister, and he did _not_ need to know what she was doing in her girlfriend’s vents.

Ivy was reorganizing her archives to fit a new “more efficient” archiving set up she had discovered about 50 years back. She hadn’t taken a break from reorganizing since. The Toy Soldier was there as well, and had been helping for the last week or so. Jonny had only ducked his head in a moment to avoid getting dragged into helping. Sorting books, ancient texts, and artifacts or whatever the hell Ivy had was not exactly where he wanted to spend a spfriday afternoon.

Ashes was sitting in their room, surrounded by about 300 boxes of matches. They stared at Jonny when he stepped in, lighting another match as they looked at him with an expression that clearly read: _W_ _hat the fuck do you want?_

Apparently, they were trying to think of new ways to light matches. And have discovered about 12.

Anything to pass the time, he supposes.

While normally Jonny would be more than interested in new ways to start fires, he was far, far to antsy to properly pay attention, and he doubted Ashes would want him to just sit in there and zone out.

Brian was the moving around the most, and Jonny, during his repeated pacing through Aurora’s halls had encountered him in the bridge, in the kitchen, in the storage bays, nearly everywhere. They’d walked together some. Silent, Brian had tried to ask if something was the matter, but Jonny had shoved off his concern and walked away.

Everyone was here, no one was missing, _why was he so convinced someone was?_

Sure, Doc C wasn't here, but he _did not fucking miss her._

_Not after everything._

_He doesn't miss her._

(He ignored the feeling that he was lying)

* * *

They were setting up a show. Nastya had decided she wasn't going last minute. Something about how she would _much_ rather cuddle with her girlfriend than deal with the lot of them.

Jonny had yelled into the vents for a few minutes, before giving up.

Absolutely certain, for no reason he could identify, they wouldn’t need her anyway.

When informing the others, Ashes made some sort of joke about being glad for a second fiddle and every nodded along.

It was only minutes before the show, and they realized that because Nastya wasn't here, _they didn't have someone on the violin._

They didn't know why they thought someone would be here, why none of them questioned it, why _they were so certain someone would play the violin._

So they stood there, looking between themselves, and at the violin on the floor, (which he noted he actaully didn't recognise because that _certainly_ wasn't Nastya's.) before Jonny stepped forward, and started doing the intro to Once Upon A Time In Space, because no matter the confusing delusion that had apparently washed over them, the show must go on.

It was probably nothing.

* * *

Brian was passing around sheet music for a song he’d written in the downtime between planets, before pausing. There were two extra sheets in his hand.

“I printed violin twice by accident, and wrote a piano section for some reason?” He’s staring at it, a frown painted on his face. “ _Why_ did I write a piano part?”

“Brian these lyrics are higher than anyone but Toy can reach and _you already gave Toy a part,_ ” Tim said accusingly. “I can reach an A but _no higher._ And I can't hold an A for that long!”

“I.. I really don't know what I was thinking.”

“I don't _know,_ and I _don't care._ ” Jonny snapped, glancing over the lyrics. “Tim, do your best. I guess. Not my fault you can't-”

“You can't even reach an A!”

“Yeah, but _I wasn't assigned that part of the song._ ”

“Jonny I will eviscerate-” 

“Can we _please_ get to singing?” Jonny interrupts Tim, who falls silent, glaring daggers. “We haven’t done a new song in _ages_!” He flops against Nastya, who startles. She’d been zoning out since Brian started talking. She adjusts her stance so Jonny can lean against her, but doesn't react beyond that.

Brian sighs, planting himself at his drums. “Jonny is right lets just-”

“Jonny is right?!?” Tim shouts, trying to derail the conversation again.

“ _Regardless of you and Jonny’s quarrels,_ it's _time to practice._ ”

“Brian!” Tim screeches, but Ivy shoves him back into a sitting position. He pouts over his guitar.

There is a tense silence for a few moments until Tim sighs, flips off everyone in the room, and pulls a guitar pick out of one of his many pockets. 

“If There Were Two Violinists I’m Sure The Second Would Be Better Than Nastya!” Toy Soldier states, it's voice high and cheerful as it looks at Nastya. 

Nastya goes to draw her gun but Jonny is covering it, so she settles for glaring.

If TS could smile, it would be wearing an evil grin.

Then everyone is in position, so Brian starts again. Looking exhausted. “Alright, everyone—”

Before he can finish, Jonny interrupts. “Three-two-one go.” They start playing, and Brian sighs, joining in.

He really doesn't know why he wrote a piano part of the song.

He can play the piano, but the drum part was more important anyway.

It's nothing.

It has to be.

* * *

“Hey, Ashes!” Tim says, dashing around the corner, cutting them off. 

They look at him pointedly. Similar to how one looks at an overexcited puppy running up to you. “Yeah?”

“Why did you get enough food for two extra people?” He asks. He isn’t exactly certain if he’s genuinely curious or if he just wants to mock Ashes for their mistake. Or both.

“..What?”

“I was looking at the manifest and you got extra supplies. Like emergency oxygen and everything.”

“Hm. Didn't mean to do that.” Ashes pulls out their phone and starts scrolling through the list. “Hm. Yeah, did do that. Welp.”

Tim frowns. There was nothing there for him to grip onto and mock. His plan of being a problem ruined. “....There’s been a lot of mistakes lately huh?” He starts, grasping at the straws of being an issue on purpose.

“Yeah.” Ashes says slowly. They know exactly what he’s doing. “Really have been. It's probably nothing though. Weirder shits happened..”

The tone in their voice told Tim that they probably were thinking about it, but there was no way he’d be able to get them to elaborate.

Not like he cared though, he had better people to bother. 

He liked being a problem on purpose.

* * *

Ivy stared at the dining table, frowning.

Nastya blinked at her. “Ivy?”

“There are two extra chairs.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are two extra chairs.”

Nastya counted the chairs. 

Nine.

“There.. Are. That is very strange.” Nastya goes to tap one of the new chairs but thinks better. They could easily be trapped. “Ivy do you know why they are there?”

“There is a 47.2% chance Brian put them there, 20.7% chance Ashes got two more chairs and upon realizing rigged them to light on fire when sat on, 16.6% chance that Tim is trying - and failing - to be funny, 8.5% chance Jonny put them there for a variety of reasons, 4.2% chance the octokittens spawned them, 1.8% chance they appeared spontaneously and have no verifiable origin and a 1% chance the Toy Solider had anything to do with it.”

“Hm.” Nastya takes a slow breath. “Aurora, do you know?”

[No] Aurora replies. [I don't.]

“That is a shame.” Nastya sighs, stepping towards the chairs.

She’s immortal, and would rather not start a fire, but this was the dining room and there was a fire extinguisher on the wall, so if she did she could deal with it quickly.

She touches one of the new chairs.

Nothing happens.

It's just a chair. 

Nastya rocks the chair side to side.

Nothing,

She sits.

Nothing happens.

“I think it is just a chair.” Nastya says. 

“Calculating that in, there is a 74.9% chance Brian put them here.”

“I wonder why.” Nastya muses. She sits in the other chair, and nothing happens.

Ivy shrugs, and turns to head into the kitchen.

“Are you making something to eat?” Nastya asks, perking up.

“Possibly.”

“Can I help?”

“There is a 56.2% chance you will ruin it and a 24.7% you will somehow make it worse.”

“I’m hungry though.”

“Ask Jonny.”

“But you are making food!”

“....Fine.”

Nastya’s face lit up. 

“Stay out the kitchen though.”

Nastya’s face fell. “But consider: I do very much like being helpful”

“You wouldn’t be.” 

“Fuck you.”

“No. I’m going to make food. Aurora keep her out of the kitchen?”

[Certainly, Ivy. I don't want a fire either.]

Ivy smiled a bit, turning towards the kitchen as Nastya held her hand over her chest, mock offended, facing Aurora’s camera. “You are a traitor Aurora!”

[and you’re an awful cook, Nastya.]

Nastya pouted as Aurora’s wires snaked around her in a hug. 

After a moment, Nastya broke and pressed a kiss to the wire.

She felt Aurora smiling as her engine whirred louder.

“I am still mad though.”

[Sure you are.]

“I am!”

* * *

Nastya paused. Glancing over Aurora’s map. That was.. Wrong. “Aurora?”

[Yes Nastya?]

“Why are there two extra pods on the O’Neil ring map? Those are not there?”

Aurora paused. Running several scans and opening the file. [I.. don't exactly know. I don't remember adding them.]

“Thats.. Very odd.”

[Nastya?]

“Hm?”

[I feel like someone is missing. Not.. Mother, but someone else. More than one someone.]

“I.. Do as well.”

[It's almost like I’m missing someone I’ve never met.]

“That is it exactly, Aurora.” Nastya nodded, finally putting a finger on what she’d been feeling for ages now. “It's like someone is missing, but no one is. It is odd.”

[Should you ask everyone else?]

“I.. Think I should yes.”

Aurora’s walls rumble in agreement as Nastya leans into the embrace of her wall. 

* * *

“Ok, Nastya, you _never_ call meetings. Ever.” Jonny’s voice is somewhere between worried and accusing. 

“Aurora and I realized something,” Nastya says, no embellishments, no fun. Flat. Serious.

Jonny, somehow, got _more_ anxious-looking. He was obviously trying to hide it, but Nastya knew. 

She could always read him. 

“Oh?” Tim said, putting both his elbows and one of his knees on the table. 

“Have any of you felt like someone is missing?”

Jonny froze. “ _Thats not just me?_ ” He stood up, starting to pace. “I thought I was- yeah. I’ve noticed that too.”

Everyone was nodding. 

“I.. Keep writing music and adding in a piano mentally.” Brian says slowly. “I keep starting to draft a song and then ill look at what I’m writing and it's just. Piano.”

“I accidentally stocked enough food for two extra people.” Ashes states. “Looking back, I did the math for nine of us instead of seven. I couldn’t tell you why.”

Jonny’s pacing, somehow, grew more frantic. He bit into his hand. 

Nastya looks at him, worried.

“There are nine chairs in the dining room now,” Ivy adds in. “They just appeared a few months back.”

“Remember that time we forgot Nastya was staying back and expected someone on violin?” Tim adds in, looking contemplative. “And Brian, remember that time how you printed violin twice when we were practicing? That time Jonny was being an arse?” 

“I do, actually.”

“Thats what- three? Four? I can't count. Multiple times Piano and Violin and extra things coming up,” Tim says, for once looking contemplative and not chaotic. “Thats… Really weird actually.”

There was a silence for a few seconds, as Jonny abruptly stopped pacing. Taking his seat next to Nastya, and putting his head in his hands. Nastya put a hesitant hand on his shoulder. He let out a shaky breath.

“What if **she** made someone else?” Jonny whispered, just loud enough for everyone to freeze in place. “Made some other poor idiots immortal. Elsewhere. Y’all know we’re all drawn here. Drawn home. It would make sense.”

“Aurora described it as missing someone you have never met.” Nastya says, snaking an arm around Jonny. He sat up a bit and leaned into her arm. 

Everyone nods a bit.

“So.. Thats the theory then?” Tim pipes up. “There’s more of us? Somewhere?”

Jonny nods. “Probably. I hate this. I hate her. I _hate her._ She said she’d stop. After she fixed your eyes. She said _we were it._ That there would be no more.”

“Jonny…” Nastya’s voice was low. “We can not be certain—”

“But it seems _pretty fucking likely._ ” He stands up again, tearing away from her arm. He looks like he’s either going to go have a crisis or kill something, probably both. “I’m- I’m going to my room.” He snaps, shoving his hands in his pockets and speedwalking away.

Nastya sighed slowly. 

“I am going to go.. Make sure he does not do anything rash.” Nastya stands, tense. “You all keep.. Discussing this I suppose.”

They nod, and Nastya takes off after Jonny.

She was worried.

* * *

The show had just finished, Jonny and Tim were seeing who could chug water bottles the quickest backstage, while Ashes and Brian watch. Ashes with amusement, Brian with mild horror.

TS was cooing over a statue of a dog it had “found” and “Absolutely Did Not Steal, Jonny, Why Would You Think Such A Thing? You Have Watched Me This Whole Time. When Would I Have Stolen It? Oh Do Be _Quiet_ Nastya.”

Nastya was getting their things together, when suddenly there was a knock on the wall.

Everyone paused.

Two people stepped backstage.

One of them had glorious metal wings nearly as wide as they are tall, long blond hair and a white complexion, the other is far shorter, 5”5 if you stretched it, thin, and a darker, tan complexion. Their arm going metal at the elbow.

They stared at each other, and the one with wings spoke. “My name is Raphaella La Cognizi, She/her, and we heard you were immortal.”

Jonny froze, before laughing, long, hysterical, high and insane. 

The shorter one looked uncomfortable.

When Jonny managed to quiet his hysterical laugher, he spoke. “She actually fucking did it then, didn't she?” His voice is high, reedy. At a point far past incredulous. 

“..Who?”

“The Doctor, _Carmilla,_ whatever you know her by,” He spat. Standing up. His legs are shaking as he gestures wildly with hardly contained panic. Nastya wraps an arm around him, both to keep him from murdering them on the spot and falling over.

He was shaking something awful. He didn't pull away.

“Oh! Her. No, I just followed her notes. I never met her.” The tall one, Raphaella says, stepping forward. 

That shocks Jonny into silence. He stares with wide eyes. 

“ _What?_ ”

“I found some notes, I made my wings. I’m sure I can explain later. Somewhere thats not backstage of a random music venue where people might be listening. Anyways, this is my companion.”

She gestures at the shorter one.

“I’m Marius Von Raum, um, He/him.” He smiles, holding out his flesh hand.

Jonny doesn't take it.

“How do we know this isn’t a trap?” He spits. “That **_she_ **didn't send you?”

“There is only an 8.7% chance of that, Jonny.” Ivy chirps. “The wings are not made in The Doctors style, and his arm is not like any of the arms I have known her to make.”

Jonny pauses, mouth open. Before he takes a long, trembling breath as he pulls himself together. 

“Well then.” He ignores how his voice wavers. How his voice pitches towards hysterical as he talked, how his hands were shake. “I’m Jonny D’Ville, Captain of the starship Aurora—”

“First Mate!” Tim says from where he’s standing nearby.

Jonny flips him off without turning. 

“It's.. It complicates things to meet you.” His voice is shaking and his eyes are wild, but he doesn't go for his gun.

There is a tense silence for a few moments, before the tall one nods.

Nastya takes what feels like her first breath in a minute.

“We will have to interrogate you before we bring you to our ship. Our ship is sentient. Her name is Aurora. She is very lovely. But.. If you prove to not be here on behalf of **_her,_ ** you can stay.”

“Alright,” Raphaella says, smiling. “That seems reasonable.”

* * *

They go back to Aurora, interrogation complete. Raph had Mechanized herself, fashioned herself wings based on long discarded notes and leftover materials from Jonny’s heart. Made herself a mechanism of her own brand. Eventually, she stumbled across Marius, and did the same to him.

Jonny starts to get angry, get scared at the idea of her mechanizing someone, at there being a new doctor, a new scientist, a replacement for Her, but goes silent when Marius tells him it's fine.

Not an understanding silence, but a sharp and terrified one.

He tells them to decide themselves, and storms off.

Nastya wanted to follow, but with a glance back he signed he wants to be alone, so Nastya lets him go.

They decide to welcome them aboard. 

And between everyone, it's like letting out a breath you’ve been holding for too long.

The ache in their chests gone. What was missing has now been found.

Marius and Raphaella have arrived safely home.

And the narrative moves on.

  
  


(“ _No, Marius, you cannot borrow my violin._ ” Nastya hisses, clutching it close to her chest. “You _have your own._ ”

“Yeah but it's _in the other room_.”

“And you have legs! You have those! Shoo.”

“Yeah but please consider _yours is right here._ ”

“And it's mine!”

Marius pouts and Nastya swats his arm. “But mine is _so far._ ”

“Why do you even need it?”

“I.. forget.”

“You forget?”

“Yeah, I forget.”

“You're a dumbass.” Nastya sighs, shaking her head. 

Marius smiles. Then pauses, looking down. 

In his hands, rests his violin.

Nastya blinks at it.

“ _How the shit am I holding my violin._ ”

He says, with the most confused expression Nastya has ever seen him wear.

Nastya shrugs. “Don't know.”

Marius just gawks at it a moment, before shaking his head. “Fine. Sure. My violin teleports. Thats normal.”

Nastya stifles a laugh.

Things just happen sometimes, who cares if they break the laws of physics a bit.

They’re immortal after all.

They’ve broken every mortal law, physics included.)

(“Raphaella?” Brian stood in the doorway of the room Raph had slowly been converting into a lab.

They weren’t telling her about The Good Doctor’s Lab.

It was far, far, far too soon for that.

“Hm?”

“You said you played the piano?”

“I did, yes.”

“I have some sheet music for you to learn. I.. Wrote this a while ago. Thought you might want to learn it.”

“Oh?” She turns around, lab coat swooshing. “Give it here!”

Brian nods, and hands over the music. “It- also has some singing parts? I’m not quite sure of your vocal range—”

“This fits it perfectly, how did you know?” 

Brian shrugs. “I think I guessed.”

She nods like that makes any sort of sense, smiling. “I’ll be sure to practice.”

Brian nods, smiling. 

It was lovely having new people around.

New faces to talk to, more people to get to know.

After spending the last few thousand years with the same group of people, it was very refreshing to have some new ones you know won’t die.

He turned to go, but Raph stepped forward.

“Wait.”

“Yes, Raphaella?”

“Do you want to help me with my experiment?”

Brian freezes a moment, but exhales slowly.

She wasn't Carmilla.

The experiment wasn't going to involve hurting his family.

“What sort of experiment?” Brian asks, turning around. Trying to look interested.

“Don't know yet. Something to do with magnets.” Raphaella smiles, bouncing on her feet.

Brian noted that it was adorable, then smiled again.

New people meant new mannerisms to memorize. New tells to learn.

That experiment seemed harmless enough, so Brian nodded, walking over.

“What will you have me do?”)

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: @Louchie  
> Mechs Tumblr: @gunpowderdtim


End file.
